Richard Gelfond, chief executive officer of Imax Corp. Photographer: Xaume Olleros/Bloomberg *** ... [+]
IMAX China, the Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of Canadian-American film technology supplier IMAX, enjoyed a big rebound in earnings and revenue in the first six months of the year as the country recovered from the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak a year earlier.
Net profit reversed to $19.2 million, compared with a loss of $35.2 million in the first half of 2020. Revenue increased to $53.4 million, up from $6.3 million, the company said in a statement today.
More than 90% of IMAX’s theaters in China, the world’s most populous country and second-largest economy, were open as of the year of June, IMAX China said. China’s GDP expanded by 7.9% in the second quarter of the year, one of the world’s best performances.
IMAX China’s business got a notable lift earlier this year from “Detective Chinatown 3," an IMAX-filmed comedy whose release was delayed by a year in connection with the COVID-19 outbreak. Though warning that Covid-19 may yet harm its China business, IMAX China said it believes that “release dates for Hollywood films will return to normal in the second half of 2021 given the reopening of the U.S. film, cinema and entertainment market,” generating new opportunity for its Greater China business.
IMAX has ridden a boom in China’s entertainment spending in the past two decades, building a theater network larger than in the American market.
The company started doing business in China in the 1990s by producing science-related documentaries used as education and learning tools; success came in part by working closely with government partners. IMAX’s first customer in the country was a Shanghai government organization; its first picture was “China: The Panda Adventure.”
IMAX China shares closed at HK$9.67 on Tuesday, compared with a recent high of HK$18.30 on April 30, caught in an undertow of investor worries about Beijing regulatory policies involving technology, education and real estate businesses.
IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond will be a speaker at the upcoming “Forbes China U.S.-China Business Forum” to be held online on Aug. 17. (For more information, contact kelly.ang@forbeschina.com)
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